Editorial - Corneal Research

EuCornea is a growing and evolving organisation, which is expanding its scope while maintaining focus on its original goals. From the society’s inception, we have been dedicated to bringing training and education to young ophthalmologists who wish to become corneal specialists, while also providing updates on the latest and most advanced techniques in the treatment of corneal disease to more experienced corneal specialists.

Therefore, at our annual congresses we provide courses, symposia and free paper sessions aimed at all levels of expertise. Our meetings include a mix of courses for young aspiring corneal specialists, courses for experienced surgeons who want to learn new techniques, and highly specialised symposia with presentations from leading experts in the field.

Moreover, our free paper sessions provide younger ophthalmologists with a means to present their own findings and make their own contributions to corneal research. This represents an important source of encouragement and an opportunity to build reputations for these budding corneal specialists, who are, after all, our future.

CONSENSUS BUILDING

Another important role of EuCornea is consensus building. When new treatments and diagnostic techniques are introduced, it takes time to evaluate their utility and safety. By bringing together cornea specialists from around the world, we can combine our knowledge and experience, thus bringing surgical, medical and technological advances to mainstream practice more rapidly. The friendships and collaborations that develop through our meetings further consolidate the continued progress of the corneal subspecialty.

Our experience so far suggests that we are achieving our aims, and this can be seen by the ever-growing attendance at our meetings. We are also learning ways of fine-tuning our meetings to enhance their educational potential. For example, we have decided that in our future congresses we will have four main symposia focusing on current hot topics in the area of corneal disease. The topics will change every year, giving a very individual character to each of our congresses.

At this year’s EuCornea congress in Copenhagen, there will be four main symposium topics, among them the diagnosis and treatment of corneal infections, and the joint symposium with ESCRS on modern corneal transplantation – a topic where there have been many innovations in recent years, from the increasing standardisation and precision of Descemet’s membrane endothelial keratoplasty and deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty, to the use of femtosecond laser in keratoplasty procedures and the preparation and use of pre-cut donor tissue.

It is an area where there remains much controversy and, as new techniques are introduced, new controversies will inevitably emerge over time. The topic is particularly appropriate given that the congress will share a venue with the XXXIV Congress of the ESCRS.

The benefits of such collaboration between our societies can be further seen in the very successful Cornea Day sessions at the ESCRS Winter Meetings. The sessions combine keynote lectures from recognised experts with case reports, which highlight the underlying science of corneal treatments and the very individual nature of each case.